Amazon bucks downward trend as US stocks struggle

The online retailer posted an unexpected quarterly profit and its market cap ballooned to $247 billion, making it the 10th-largest U.S. company by market value. European benchmarks rose as talks began in Athens for Greece’s bailout.

Selling in stocks accelerated after a report from The Wall Street Journal said Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will propose almost doubling the U.S. capital gains tax rate on short-term investments.

After moving lower over the three previous sessions, stocks may turn in a lackluster performance in early trading on Friday. Disappointing quarterly results from several companies and increased worry that China’s economy is slowing weighed on the market. Week-over-week, the S&P 500 and NASDAQ lost 2.2 and 2.3 percent respectively, marking their biggest weekly declines in four months, while the 2.9 percent downtick for the Dow was its largest on record since January 2015.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 80 points, or 0.5 percent, to 17,651 as of 11:26 a.m. Eastern Time. The Nasdaq composite lost nine points, or 0.2 percent, to 5,137.

“Tepid results in a lot of the earnings pictures have certainly been mixed”, Sorensen said.

“There’s been a broad-based commodities sell-off this week, so that’s creating some nervousness around whether there’s a broader global economic slowdown, specifically in China”, Joe Spinelli, head of single-stock trading for the Americas at Deutsche Bank, said. But it’s been downhill since then. The two stocks, together with American Express, contributed 104 points to Dow’s fall.

SECTOR VIEW: Seven of the 10 sectors in the S&P 500 moved lower.

On the other hand, shares of Biogen (BIIB) may come under pressure after the biotechnology company reported weaker than expected second quarter revenues and cut its full-year guidance. Biogen slid $72.71, or 18.9 percent, to $312.34. Shares of both fell though: Cigna dived 5.6 percent 2.9 percent and Anthem 2.8 percent.

OFF THE MARK: Capital One Financial sank 12.5 percent a day after the credit card issuer and lender reported second-quarter earnings and revenue that failed to meet financial analysts’ expectations.

As of June, AT&T reported cash and cash equivalents of $20.95 billion from $11.3 billion in a year ago period. Investors did not immediately welcome the news.

Gold prices resumed their decline Friday, with futures down 0.8 per cent to $US1,085.50 an ounce.

Visa said Thursday that profits rose 25% in its latest quarter.

Market internals are also decidedly negative, with declining stocks leading advancers by nearly 3 to 1, and down volume leading up volume by about 4 to 1.

CHINA WEAKNESS: China’s manufacturing slumped to a 15-month low in July in a fresh sign of deterioration in the world’s second biggest economy. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.7 percent.

In Paris, CAC 40 index gained 17.82 or 0.4% to 5,073.47. Crude oil futures turned lower, falling 0.6 per cent to $US48.14 a barrel. Brent crude, a benchmark for global oils used by many U.S. refineries, fell 65 cents Friday to close at $54.62 a barrel in London.